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COLONIAL 





NEWBURYPORT, 1697. Whittier. 
UP AND DOWN THE VILLAGE STREETS 
STRANGE ARE THE FORMS MY FANCY 

MEETS, 
FOR THE THOUGHTS AND THINGS OF 

TO-DAY ARE HID, 
AND THROUGH THE VEIL OF A CLOSED 

LID 
THE ANCIENT WORTHIES I SEE AGAIN. 




i 



® 



. N 5t'T& 3 







The 

of the 

TowLE Mfg. Co. 

Which is intended to De- 
lineate and Describe some 
^luaint and Historic Places 
in Newburyport and Vicinity 
and show the Origin and 
Beauty of the Colonial 
Pattern of Silverware. 

Copyright^ /8g8 



By 

OCT 




'J 





NEWBURYPORT 

I HE history of Newburyport is variously 
written, and, in a way, completely re- 
corded; but this mass of material, precious 
as it is, only suggests the wealth of romance 
centering about the old town, locked up 
in journals and log-books, or fading away 
in the memories of the few relics of earlier 
and more picturesque times. 
The ideals of to-day, here as everywhere else, are properly busi- 
ness and progress on the lines of modern opportunities; and this 
is the same spirit of enterprise which led our progenitors of 
seventy-five or one hundred years ago to their undertakings by 
sea and land, and brought them riches and renown in such 
generous measure. 

That they are interesting and picturesque is merely incidental; 
their purpose was as matter-of-fact and practical as any to-day, 
and as well attained ; but time and changed customs lend charm 
to their personalities, while many of their deeds are records of 
bravery and greatness that would be memorable under any 

conditions. 

Going back still further, to its first settlement in 1635, on the 
banks of the Parker river, called by the Indians Quascacunquen 
and renamed by the settlers in honor of their spiritual leader, 
we see a band of sturdy voyagers giving up the comforts of life 
in the mother country for the rugged hardships of a wilderness, 
and between them a long and tedious passage over a stormy sea 
in the small vessels and with the scant knowledge of that day. 
Some of them had the previous summer journeyed fi-om Boston 
to Ipswich, then the outpost, where they were joined by later 
arrivals; and traveling by land even for so short a distance being 



m^fit Colonial Boolt 

difficult, they loaded their goods in open boats and followed the 
shore to the pleasant haven which had been selected for their 
home. They were not needy nor driven to this step for a liveli- 
hood, as one of their first acts was stock raising on an extensive 
scale with cattle imported from Holland, and in the company 
were graduates of Oxford University. They soon established 
a thriving ''plantation," as it w^as then termed, and were early 
incorporated and represented by deputy at the General Court 
held in Boston to administer the affairs of Massachusetts Bay. 

If we would realize the strength of purpose which sustained 
these colonists, we must picture the conditions w^hich confronted 
them. The severity of New England winter; their isolation 
and lack of material resources, tor almost everything must be 
laboriously wrought out; their danger from wild beasts and 
hostile Indians; and the uncertainty of those crops which meant 
so much for their good or ill. 

That they persevered and succeeded, Newburyport is the evi- 
dence; but the story of their trials and achievements is a reproach 
to the easy critic of the present, who reaps with little labor 
benefits for which they struggled and hoped, but of which, for 
the most part, they had little comprehension. 

That they were devout people needs no saying, their public 
religious worship commencing under a spreading tree, the first 
Sunday after their arrival. That they also recognized the needs 
of the body as well as the soul, is evidenced by the license 
granted by the General Court to one of the settlers, within six 
months of their arrival, to keep an ordinary, or inn, for the 
entertainment of such as needed. This community was early in 
establishing important enterprises which, with the systematic 
parceling out of the land and the development and management 
of current affairs, gave them abundant occupation and shows 
their remarkable energy and business capacity. The descendants 
of these pioneers occupy practically the same lands to-day, 
which are among the most prosperous farms of the region. 

The growth of the town was to the northward, and soon 
from the shelter of the **01dtown" hills the settlement stretched 




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Zfft €olonM l$ooft 




along the bank of the Merrimac, and, embracing eagerly the 
opportunities it offered, encouraged maritime enterprises in every 
way, until with the building of wharves and the establishment of 
ship-yards began the era which was to give to Newburyport its 
real power and position. The small vessels for fishing became 
numerous, and were followed by larger and more pretentious 
craft, which carried to foreign ports the products of the country, 
and brought back the rich goods and outfittings needed in the 
rapidly developing community, or distributed through surround- 
ing and inland towns. 

Through this commerce came wealth and culture, and many 
are the evidences of magnificent living among the rich merchants, 
while the numerous ship-masters returned from foreign lands with 
minds broadened and stimulated by contact with other peoples 
and tastes formed which greatly modified the old Puritan customs. 

The town furnished many troops for the Colonial and Indian 
wars, and was foremost in the demonstration against the Stamp 
Act, also heartily supporting the Revolutionary war from the first 
Lexington alarm. In these troops were officers of high rank 
whose deeds of valor are national history. 

The naval forces were greatly strengthened by ships built 
here, and from here also numerous privateers sailed with letters 
of marque and returned with rich prizes to b-; in turn fitted out 







on the same errands. Many are the thrilling tales of capture, 
imprisonment, and escape told by the returning heroes, and it is 
small wonder that with the prospect of booty and adventure active 
young men took naturally to the sea. 

Commercial activity suffered a severe blow in the embargo 
placed on foreign trade by the government in 1 807, and while 
it lasted shipping was at a complete standstill. A few years 
later, in 181 1, came a second misfortune, in the form of the 
great fire which in one night destroyed sixteen acres of the busi- 
ness district, including nearly all the important public buildings 
and institutions. Though in a measure soon recovered from, 
these calamities served to seriously check advancing prosperity, 
and while later there were large importing interests they failed 
to reach their former importance, and have now, with changed 
methods of transportation, almost entirely disappeared. In 
their place have come mills and factories with their attendant 
needs and influences, bringing a larger if not a wealthier popu- 
lation, and it is by these that the city must continue to thrive. 

The manufacture of silverware is one of these factors, which, 
having its beginning as shown by authentic record in the modest 




Zfft eolonial ISoolk 

enterprise of William Moulton in 1689, has steadily developed 
until it is now one of the most important industries; and it is 
especially fitting that a Colonial pattern of spoons and like table- 
ware should be produced where one of the first silversmiths of the 
country worked, and estabhshed a business which has been con- 
tinued without interruption to the present day. 

It is interesting to note in this connection that here was born 
Jeremiah Dummer, who, in 1659, was apprenticed to John Hull 
of Boston, one of the early settlers of that place and the first silver- 
smith in America. Jeremiah Dummer, who was thus the first 
native American to practise this art, was afterward judge of the 
Court of Common Pleas of Suffolk County, and was the father of 
William Dummer, governor of the Province of Massachusetts. 

Another Newburyport silversmith who attained prominence 
outside his profession was Jacob Perkins, who, in 1781, at the 
age of fifteen, was by the death of his master left in charge of his 
business, and who at twenty-one was employed to make dies for 
the Massachusetts Mint. He afterward became famous as an 
inventor, and removed to London, where his genius was recognized 
by the Society of Liberal Arts, and he was rewarded with their 
medals. 

During this eventful history many men have arisen here to be 
enrolled among the worid's acknowledged benefactors, and a 
few of these were noticed on another page, in connection with 
the places enriched by their remembrance. 

The growing interest in such matters fostered by historical 
societies, improvement societies, and the various organizations of 
descendants of Revolutionary patriots, is a marked sign of the 
times, and to such it is hoped these pages will appeal; while to 
those who may visit Newburyport, they will serve as an intro- 
duction: and others, far away, may realize some of the beauties 
and attractions of this old New England city. 






ts^t^S""*. 






IS^ift Colonial l$oolt 

THE EARLY WARS. 

IN the foregoing sketch we have briefly touched upon the part 
of Old Newbury, and later, Newburyport, in our country's 
early wars. Their record in the estabhshment and defence 
of our National government can be but outhned here, yet how- 
ever incomplete this account, it seems fit at a time of such wide 
awaking to the glory of our past, when individuals recall with 
justifiable pride the services of patriotic ancestors, that the brilliant 
accomplishments, and also the not less glorious though unavailing 
efforts of a community, be indicated for the many to whom the 
full history is not available. 

In the eariy expeditions against hostile Indians, Newbury took 
an important part, from the Pequod war two years after her 
settlement, in which she flirnished one-fifteenth of the Massachu- 
setts quota; the King Philip war, in which more than one-half 
her eligible inhabitants were enlisted; the French and Indian 
war, when a part of her expedition against Cape Breton was cast 
away and lost; to the war with the Norridgewocks, which was 
terminated by the killing of Sebastian Ralle, their French leader, 
by Lieut. Jaques of this town. 

During the frequent wars between France and England, while 
this country was still a colony, many men went from here, to fight 
in England's cause on the Canadian frontier. Chief among those 
were Col. Moses Titcomb, Capt. William Davenport, and 
Nathaniel Knapp. The former, serving in many campaigns under 
Sir William Pepperell, took part in the capture of Louisburg and 
the battle of Crown Point, where he was shot while directing his 
regiment in most effective operations. Capt. Davenport raised 
companies and served in two campaigns, being with Gen. Wolfe 
on the plains of Abraham, and a few days later at the surrender 
of Quebec. 

It was reserved, however, for the thrilling issues of the war 
of independence to call forth the universal and unwavering 
patriotism of the residents of old Newbury. 

The story of pre-revolutionary agitation in Newburyport is 
one of steadily threatening protest, from the first application of 




€^|)^ Colonial iSooi^ 

the Stamp Act. As early as 1765 a stamp distributor was hung 
in effigy, while visiting strangers were subjected to rough hand- 
ling, if they were not quick to proclaim their antipathy to this 
measure. Such treatment was perforce exercised upon strangers, 
if at all, as in this town only four persons were suspected of 
loyalism and of these there was proof against but one, who died 
before the call to war which would have revealed his position. 
This was a record perhaps unequalled. 

From that time to the actual outbreak of hostilities, Newbury- 
port was in a ferment of restrained rebelHon; this unity of opinion 
and harmony of action would have been impossible in a lesser 
cause, and was the more remarkable when we consider that such 
action meant the sacrifice of a large part of the town's greatest 
interest, her commerce and its dependent shipbuilding, and that 
the rejection of British goods meant the retirement of the many 
vessels in that trade. 

This was the actual result ; but instead of turning the people 
from their elected course it added to their determination, and they 
organized to prevent possible smuggling of the detested com- 
modities. Under the wise and temperate leadership of the 
Committee of Safety, they corresponded with neighboring towns 
and the remoter colonies, and when the first blow was struck at 
Lexington it found them ready and impatient for the great 
struggle for civil liberty. 

It was eleven o'clock at night on the nineteenth of April, 
1775, when the courier bearing news of the fight at Lexington 
reached this town; but not a moment was lost, and before mid- 
night the first detachment of minute-men was galloping over the 
road, while morning found four companies on the way to the 
scene of conflict. At the termination of this alarm these compa- 
nies returned, but others were soon formed for regular service 
in the Continental army, and did memorable work at the 
battle of Bunker Hill. 



m 







Zfft €olonM liot^ 




Space forbids following these troops through this and other 
battles, but a few figures rise pre-eminent, and no account, how- 
ever slight, would be complete without them. 

Col. Moses Little was in command of a regiment in many- 
important battles of the Revolution, beginning with Bunker Hill, 
where he was officer of the day when Washington took command. 
On account of ill health brought on in the service, he declined 
the commission of brigadier general, and the command of a 
special expedition raised by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 

Col. Edward Wigglesworth was appointed to a regiment early 
in 1776, and served with distinction for three years, when he 
was retired at his own request. He took a prominent part in 
Arnold's expedition on Lake Champlain, being third in com- 
mand, and materially aid°d the retreat of the flotilla when it>i 
was hemmed in by the enemy. i 

Captain, afterward Major, Ezra Lunt was another who served 
at Bunker Hill, and it is asserted that his company was formed 
in the broad aisle of the Old South church at the close of a sermon, 
in response to the pastor's appeal for volunteers; and that it was 
the first volunteer company of the Continental army. 

Here formed and embarked the important expedition under 
Benedict Arnold, then a valued officer in the patriot army, which, 
penetrating to Quebec, assisted Montgomery in his gallant assault. 

As it was with maritime affairs that Newburyport was chiefly 
identified, it is to the sea that we must look for her most brilliant 
and individual victories. 

Congress soon reaHzed that our shipping was being rapidly ex- 
terminated by the armed vessels of the enemy, and issued letters 
of marque to assist the feeble and barely established navy in re- 
tahating for these encroachments; ship owners here were not 
slow to accept these privileges, and many privateers were fitted 
out and manned, often by the flower of the town's youth; one 








of these, the Yankee Hero, the second of that name, sailing in 
1775 under Capt. James Tracy, with twenty guns and a crew 
of one hundred and%eventy men, including fifty from Newbury- 
port's first famihes, was never afterward heard from. 

The spirit that animated these bold mariners may be judged 
from the announcement made on the occasion of prayers in church 
for the success of the Game Cock, the first privateer to sail out 
of any port, that she hoped to ** scour the coast of our unnatural 
enemies," though she was a sloop of but twenty-four tons. 
She sailed from Newburyport in August, 1775, and succeeded 
in bringing prizes into port. 

It would be difHcult to estimate the number of these privateers, 
but that they were numerous and successful will be understood 
w^hen it is stated that twenty-four ships of which Mr. Nathaniel 
Tracy was principal owner, with a tonnage of 6,330 and carry- 
ing 2,800 men, captured from the enemy one hundred and 
twenty vessels amounting to 23,360 tons, and which with their 
cargoes were sold for three million nine hundred and fifty thousand 
specie dollars. Mr. Tracy was also principal owner in one 
hundred and ten other vessels, twenty-three of which were let- 
ters of marque. These vessels were closely alhed to the regular 
navy, which was now gaining strength, and we find the same men 
alternating between the command of privateers and government 
vessels, as the fortunes of war permitted. 

The frigates Boston, Hancock, and Protection, 
and the brig Pickering, were built here, as well as 
the sloop of war Merrimac which was built by sub- 
scription and tendered to the government, when its 
funds were reduced, to be paid for at a very low price 









'§ 




when convenient. She was commanded by Capt. Moses Brown 
of this port, a remarkably gallant sailor, and during the five years 
that she was in commission made many important captures. 

The war ships Alliance and Warren were also built on the 
Merrimac, just above Newburyport, and were fitted out at this 
place. 

The name of Paul Jones, the intrepid and irresistible ''Citizen 
of the World," as he later styled himself, whose brilliant prowess 
was developed in the service of the United States, is connected 
with Newburyport through two of his ablest lieutenants, Henry 
and Cutting Lunt. 

The messieurs Lunt, cousins, first shipped in the brig Dalton, 
Captain Eleazer Johnston, which sailed, with a crew of one 
hundred and twenty men, November 15, 1776. The Dalton 
was captured, the twenty-fourth of the following December, by 
the sixty-four-gun man-of-war Reasonable, of the English navy, 
and her crew cast into Mill Prison, Plymouth, where they re- 
mained, and suffered great hardships, for more than two years, 
and were finally released through the efforts of Benjamin Franklin. 
During this time Charles Herbert of Newburyport, one of the 
number, wrote a journal which he preserved in spite of the close 
inspection to which they were subjected. After his death this 
journal was published^ and forms a most interesting and valuable 
record of life in an English prison. 

Henry and Cutting Lunt, on obtaining their liberty, went to 
France and enlisted as midshipmen with Paul Jones, on the Bo;^ 
Homme Richard then fitting out at L' Orient. They were speedily 
promoted lieutenants, and served their able commander, whom 
they greatly admired, in many of his fiercest engagements, in- 



^fft €olonM iSooii 

eluding that with the Serapis. It was in this terrible battle, when 
Commodore Jones was fighting against heavy odd^., that his success 
was almost reversed by the traitorous act of his subordinate, the 
Frenchman Landais. The latter was in command of the ship 
Alliance before mentioned, and, inspired by jealousy, continued 
under the presumable excuse of firing at the enemy, to rake the 
decks of the Bo;i Homme Richard ^ in spite of the frantic signals 
of the latter. Many Newburypor*- men were in the crew of the 
Alliance at that time, and were tlius obliged to fire on their 
friends and townsmen. 

When Paul Jones was recruiting for a frigate building for him 
at Portsmouth, he came to Newburyport to engage Henry Lunt, 
and expressed great regret when he found that Lieutenant Lunt 
had sailed on the letter of marque ship Intrepid, of this port. 
He remarked that he would prefer Mr. Lunt to any officer he 
had ever known. 

Many seamen from Newburyport also served under Jones in 
the Ranger, Bon Homme Richard^ Alliance, and Ariel. 

While men-of-war and privateers carried brave men to seek 
the enemy abroad, those left at home were far from idle. Ship- 
building was very active, forts were established and maintained 
at the mouth of the river, while the English ship Friends, which 
had mistaken this port for Boston, was captured off the bar, by 
the stratagem of adventurous spirits who had observed her actions 
from the town and boarded her in open boats. 

In 1 779 the ship Vengeance and the schooner Shark fitted out 
here and joined the ill-fated expedition by which it was intended 
to overthrow the British military post on the Penobscot, but 
which, after entering the harbor, was hemmed in by a large fleet 





^> 



^fft Colonial HSooft 

of the enemies* ships, that appeared unexpectedly. Rather than 
see them fall into the hands of the British, the commander of the 
expedition ordered his ships burned, and the crews found their 
way home overland. 

The war of 1 8 1 2 found Newburyport just recovering from 
the great fire of 1 8 1 1 , and the paralyzing Embargo of previous 
years. In striking contrast to their war spirit in the Revolution, 
the people of this town were almost unanimously opposed to this 
second war with England, and this not for reasons of mere com- 
mercial policy, however much they needed business, but on the 
ground that such a war was unjustified, and that the diiferences 
might easily be settled in other ways. An address adopted in 
full town meeting was sent to the legislature of Massachusetts, 
in which they declared their willingness to stand by the Con- 
stitution and defend their rights, and their equal unwilhngness 
to take any aggressive part in the proposed war. These senti- 
ments were in the main adhered to, throughout hostilities, and 
in pursuance of them, forts were manned at the mouth of the 
Merrimac and at other points on Plum Island, which served to 
keep at bay several English ships that hovered around this part 
of the coast, in the hope of destroying the sloop of war Wasp 
and gunboats Number Eighty-one and Number Eighty-three, 
then building here. 

Although privateering shared to a great degree the unpopularity 
of the war, quite a number were fitted out here, some of which 
made briUiant records. Chief among these was the brig Deca- 
tur, Captain Wilham Nichols, which, during two weeks of one 
voyage, captured eight vessels, four of which were armed. 
Earlier in the war Captain Nichols was in command of the 
merchant ship Alert, which was taken by the British man-of- 
war Semramis, and ordered to Plymouth under a guard from the 
latter. Before reaching that port, however. Captain Nichols 









and his men regained control of the ship and imprisoned the 
British seamen in the hold. Unfortunately, they soon fell in 
with another British ship, the Vestal, which again took them 
and carried them to Portsmouth, England. This may have de- 
termined Captain Nichols to his latter course which was ot 
undoubted service to the National cause. ^ ^ 

Privateering, though apparently very remunerative durmg 
the war of the Revolution, did not prove so m the end, except 
as it stimulated business for the time being and the enormous 
fortunes gained by individuals were much reduced by later 
losses and contributions to the expense of war. In addition to 
the many merchant ships captured by the English twenty-two 
vessels, carrying over one thousand men, sailed from here and 
were never afterward heard from. 

In the eight years from the batde of Lexington to the proc- 
lamation of peace, Newburyport raised for current expenses 
tz C 22, 500, which was eighty-five times the aggregate of 
appropriations for an equal period immediately preceding 

It was at first intended to print here the names of all who 
served in the Revolutionary wars, from Newbury and Newbury- 
port, but the impossibility of this becomes apparent when we 
find that in the neighborhood of fifteen hundred were m the 
army alone, at one time or another; while the number of those 
that were in the navy or privateers would be difficult even o 
estimate. In place of this, the publishers of this book will freely 
send to any of Newbury or Newburyport ancestry, all availa- 
ble record of any name submitted, or will, in any other way 
possible, identify early patriots. 



Z'bt €oloniul l$ook 

ALTHOUGH commerce and ship-building were the chief 
industrial interests of Newburyport in its early years, 
invention and manufacturing were by no means absent. 
Reference has been made to the antiquity of silversmithing here, 
and much more might be said of the extent of this industry, and 
the variety of articles manufactured. Some of them, as for 
instance silver shoe-buckles, are now obsolete, while silver thim- 
bles and necklaces of gold beads, though still used, are not 
commonly the product of silversmiths. In 1824, machinery 
was invented here for the manufacture of silver thimbles, and an 
extensive business was developed in this line, but it has long 
since ceased to exist. 

Many instances might be cited of great men who were trained 
as gold or silversmiths, but whose talents afterwards enriched 
other branches of art or science. In the old world, Cellini and 
Michael Angelo were prominent examples, and, later, Paul 
Revere arose in this country and rendered important services for 
the welfare, comfort, and prosperity of a struggHng people. In 
like manner, Jacob Perkins, the Newburyport silversmith, whose 
great skill as engraver and die- cutter, as well as silversmith, is ■ 
elsewhere referred to, was too richly endowed with ideas and 
ambition to limit his efforts to a narrow field. 

He was born July 9, 1766, and died July 13, 1849, after a 
life of versatile activity in the mechanic arts and sciences, where, 
in the face of triumphs that would have satisfied many, we find 
him turning from one problem to another, and gaining new laurels 
from each. One of his most important inventions was a machine 
for making nails, produced when he was but twenty-four years 
of age. At that time all nails were forged by hand, and a good 
workman could produce one thousand in a day. With his per- 
fected machines, the daily product of one man was increased to 
^^"l ten kegs, of one hundred pounds each. 

He associated with him.self Messrs Guppy & Armstrong of f 
Newburyport, who built the machines, and together they estab- ' 





lished a manufactory at Newbury Falls, a part of the town now 
called Byfield, where water-power was available. 

In the following extract from an advertisement in the Impartial 
Herald, Newbury port, 1795, we catch a glimpse of business 
methods in those days of quaint customs;--- 

The patentee would inform the public that they have begun 
the manufacture of brads, and will have a considerable number 
in fourteen or twenty days. As some will naturally think they 
cannot supply the whole continent and will therefore order from 
abroad, they would say that they have three engines which will 
make thirty-six hundred thousand weekly, and will add one 
engine each month. 

N. B. A few whitesmiths may have constant employ and 
liberal wages. 

p . ( Jacob Perkins, Inventor. 

" I Guppy & Armstrong. 

To follow in detail all the enterprises and achievements of 
Jacob Perkins would unduly extend this article, and we can only 
briefly refer to the most important. 

He invented a stereotype check-plate for the reverse of bank- 
bills, designed for the prevention of counterfeiting. This was 
very successful, there being no record of an attempt to counter- 
feit it, whereas the practice had been very common with those 
previously used. 

During the war of 181 2, he was employed by the National 
government in the construction of machinery for boring out old 
and honey-combed cannon, and he invented a steam gun that 
discharged one thousand balls a minute. 

He made great improvements in hardening and softening steel 
and particularly applied these to the engraving of that metal. 

He demonstrated the compressibility of water, inventing the 
Piezometer for this purpose, and invented instruments for 
measuring the depth of the sea. On his arrival in London in 
1820, he published a treatise on these subjects. He also 
experimented on new types of the steam engine, in some employ- 






ing steam at a pressure of 65 atmospheres, or 975 pounds to 
the square inch. 

To him all phenomena and conditions seem to have been a 
challenge, and he applied his power:, to the solution of any 
problem presented. In London he was known as the "American 
Inventor," and was accorded much distinction. 

Another industry inaugurated by Newbury port capital was 
located at the falls in Byfield. This was the Newburyport 
Woolen Company, established in 1794, the first company in- 
corporated for that business in the state, and by some authorities 
named as the first woolen manufactory in America. The card- 
ing and other machines for its equipment were built by Stand- 
ring, Guppy, & Armstrong, in Newburyport, being set up in 
**Lord" Timothy Dexter' s stable; and were the first made 
in this country. 

At Newbury a fulling mill had been in operation since 1687, 
when it was established by Peter Cheney, who sold it to John 
Pearson, by whose descendants it was operated as a fulling mill 
and blanket factory until destroyed by fire. It was succeeded 
by the present mill, established by the Pearsons, who are most 
prominently identified with this industry. 

At Byfield, also, machinery for making wooden shoe-pegs 
was invented by Paul Pillsbury. This article completely revolu- 
tionized the manufacture. 

Other industries that at the beginning ot this century contributed 
largely to Newburyport' s prosperity, were: — cordage-making, 
employing fifty hands; boot and shoe making (Newbury and 
Newburyport together), employing upwards of one hundred and 
fifty hands, these being scattered in the little shops that dotted 
the country in that day; comb-making, the product of which was 
nearly ^200,000, annually; tobacco-manufacture, in the form of 



snufFs and cigars; tanning; morocco-dressing; wool-pulling; 
carriage-building; and not least of all, distilling. B.um was a 
very important commodity, freely drunk by high and low; and 
few advertisements of merchandise were seen without the 
announcement of a choice hogshead of rum, generally in large 
type at the head of the list. 

At the close of the last century there were ten distilleries in 
active operation here, contributing to the reputation of New 
England rum. 

Another notable feature was Newburyport's importance as a 
publishing centre, and the extent of its retail book-trade. 

The first newspaper here was established in 1 773, by Isaiah 
Thomas and Henry W. Tinges, who, on December 4 of that 
year, issued the first number of the Essex Journal and New 
Hampshire Packet. 

Only a few of the books published here can be alluded to, but 
some of these were of much importance. 

The first system of Arithmetic p' .blished in this country was 
the work of Nicholas Pike, a Newburyport school-master, and 
was p'.:blished here in 1787. This was a very comprehensive 
work, and was an authority for many years. 

Blunt's famous "Coast Pilot'* and other nautical works were 
published here by Blunt & March, who also issued many other 
volumes, including medical works. Bibles, Testaments, hymn 
books, and other religious works, such as ""Christ's Famous 
Titles and Believer's Golden Chain, together with Cabinet of 
Jewels." 

Other works were: Quarles' *< Emblems and Hieroglyphics 
of the Life of Man," 1799, with copperplate engravings; "The 
Life of Nelson;" "The Life of Paul Jones;" "The Poetical 
Works of Peter Pindar, a Distant Relation of the Poet of 












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Thebes;'* the ''Idler," in two volumes; and Volume II of 
** Letters Written by the late Right Honorable Philip Dorman 
Stanhope, Earl of Chesterfield, * * Volume I of which was pub- 
lished at Boston. 

The publishers of these were Angier March, successor to 
Blunt & March, Thomas & Whipple, and John Mycall. 

An evidence of the magnitude of this business is the extensive 
advertising of books in the local papers of that time, and the fact 
that one of the stores burned in the great fire of 1 8 1 1 , con- 
tained a stock of ^30,000 worth of books. 

Newburyport is, or has been, more or less identified with some 
of the most prominent educational institutions of the present, first 
among which is Harvard College. The town of Newbury con- 
tributed to the support of this institution in its earliest years, and 
had the honor of claiming its first graduate, Benjamin Woodbridge 
of this town being placed at the head of the class of nine who 
completed the course in 1642. 

Position in the class was determined by the standing or rank 
of the families of members, a method in keeping with the rigid 
social distinctions of those days. 

Newburyport furnished seven professors to Harvard College, 
including Samuel Webber who was made president in 1 806, 
and Cornelius Conway Felton, who was similarly honored in 
i860. Other college presidents born here were Samuel C. 
Bartlett of Dartmouth, Leonard Woods of Bowdoin, and Ben- 
jamin Hale of Hobart. 

Dummer Academy, Newbury, was founded by Governor 
Dummer in 1761, and was the first institution of its kind in 
operation in America. It has had a notable history, and is still 
in a flourishing condition. 



Zi)t Colonial iSooite 

EMINENT MEN OF EARLY TIMES RESIDENT 
HERE, NOT ELSEWHERE MENTIONED- 

Chief Justice Samuel Sewall, the subject of Whittier's poem 
of which the quotation on the first page of this book is the be- 
ginning, was bora in 1652, and was one of the most learned 
and respected men of his time. He married Hannah Hull, 
daughter of John Hull, master of the Massachusetts Mint, re- 
ferred to on another page as the first silversmith in Boston, who 
presented the bride with a dowry equal to her weight, in silver 
sixpences. 

Theophilus Bradbury, a jurist of distinction and member of 
Congress under Washington's administration, was born here in 
1739. He was also justice of the Supreme Court ot Massa- 
chusetts. 

Charles Jackson, a son of Jonathan Jackson, was born in 1775, 
and became an eminent lawyer and justice of the Supreme Court 
of Massachusetts. 

Patrick Tracy Jackson, born in Newburyport in 17 So. 
Merchant and originator, with his brother-in-law, Francis C. 
Lowell, of cotton-cloth manufacture in America. They invented 
machinery, and established a mill at Waltham which was in 
successfil operation many years, and was said to be the first 
manufactorv in the world to combine cotton spinning and weav- 
ing, under 'one roof. Later, Mr. Jackson purchased the ^entire 
site and water privilege of the present city of Lowell, which he 
founded, and named m honor of his brother-in-law and former 
partner, then dead. In 1830, Mr. Jackson, in company with 
Mr. Boot, conceived the project of constructing a raihoad m 
New England, and, overcoming great obstacles, completed it m 
1835. This was the Boston Sc Lowell Railroad, now a part 
of the Boston & Maine svstem. 

Charles Toppan, the first president of the American Bank Note 
Company, was born in 1796, and studied engraving^in Phila- 
delphia. ' He was later associated with Jacob Perkins, with whom 
he went to England to introduce improvements m bank-note 
engraving. In i8;8, he organized the American B^*^^*?^^ 
Company of New York, with branches in Boston, Philadelphia, 
Cincinnati, New Orleans, and Montreal. 

Jacob Little, son of a prosperous merchant of Newburyport, 




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was born in 1797, and at an 



early age entered the emplo) 





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''^'^''''^'^'^^^^^^^m. 



a prominent merchant of New York. He afterward became a 
member of the New York Stock Exchange, and was the 
acknowledged head of the financial world of that city. 

William Wheelwright, one of Newbury port's greatest bene- 
factors, was born In 1798. He was a ship-master, and was 
cast away on the coast of Brazil in 1 8 23; which led him to 
settle and engage in business in South America, in the develop- 
ment of which he became a prominent factor. He established 
steamship lines and built the first railroads on that continent, 
overcoming tremendous natural obstacles, and finally accumu- 
lating great wealth. His statue in bronze stands in the public 
square of Valparaiso, the gift of the people, in recognition ot 
his achievements. 

He always retained his attachment for and interest in his native 
town, and in his will provided for the establishment of a scientific 
school here, when the fimd, which now amounts to ^400,000, 
should be sufficient. A part of the income of this sum is now 
used to defray the expenses of a scientific education for such 
graduates of the High School as desire it, some being maintained 
in Europe for this purpose. 

Caleb Gushing, the eminent lawyer and statesman, was bom in 
Salisbury in the year 1800, but came to Newburyport with 
his parents at the age of two years. He was educated for the 
bar, and early achieved distinction in his profession. He was 
minister to China and to Spain, and represented this country at 
the Geneva tribunal. 

He was also commissioned brigadier general in the Mexican 
War, and held many other important offices. 

Others whom Newburyport has been proud to call her sons 
by birth or adoption are: — 

Right Reverend Thomas M. Clarke, Bishop of Rhode 
Island, born here in 1 8 1 2. 



Wfft €oloniKl ISooife 

Benjamin Perley Poore, journalist and author, born at Indian 
Hill Farm, Newbury, the home of his ancestors for many- 
generations, in 187,0. 

General A. W. Greeley, of the United States Army, com- 
mander of the Arctic Expedition bearing his name. He was 
born in 1844. 

Mr. WiUiam C. Todd, founder of the Free Reading Room 
of this city, and lately donor of ^50,000 to maintain a free 
newspaper reading room in the Boston Public Library. Mr. 
Todd was born in Atkinson, N. H., in 1823; and w^as for 
many years principal of the Female High School of this city. 

Josiah Little, founder of the Pubhc Library. 

Michael Simpson, by whose liberahty the Public Library 
building was greatly enlarged and improved. 

George Peabody, the famous London banker, whose benefac- 
tions amounted to millions of dollars. Mr. Peabody received 
his early business training here in the employ of his brother, but 
was obliged to leave Newburyport after the great fire of 1 8 1 1 . 
He endowed the Newburyport PubHc Library with a fund of 
^15,000. 

NOTES. 

The quaint old sign of the Wolfe Tavern, pictured at the 
end of this book, is a pleasing reminder of the ancient institution 
of that hostelry, as well as a token of early patriotism and 
tribute to mihtary greatness. 

Captain WiUiam Davenport brought back from the plains of 
Abraham enthusiastic appreciation of his late commander. 
General Wolfe, who fell a sacrifice to bravery in the hour of 
his hard-earned victory. When, therefore, in 1762, Captain 
Davenport transformed his dwelling near the lower end o{ Fish 
(now State) Street to a tavern, he dedicated it to_ his 
lamented leader, and placed in front a swinging ^sign, 
elaborately carved, with a portrait of General Wolfe, 
surrounded by a wreath entwined with scrolls, the 
whole appropriately painted and gilded. This highly 



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::V'dont f/^'i unless pIre'd vpon.'. 

BUT if THEY MjEAW t6 HAVE, AWAR 
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decorative emblem was freely threatened with destruction, dur- 
ing the Revolutionary War, when only the hatred of all things 
British was thought of, and former pride in the achievements of 
Wolfe forgotten. While all other reminders of royalty were 
destroyed, and notwithstanding the declaration of a local news- 
paper, that it was an "insult to the inhabitants of this truly 
republican town,'' it remained in place until destroyed by the 
great fire of l8ll. The present sign was erected in 1814, 
when the tavern was removed to its present location. 

Before the introduction of railroads, the Wolfe Tavern was 
the property, and a station, of the Eastern Stage Company, 
which ran daily trips, with relays of horses, to Boston and 
Portsmouth; and the arrival and departure of the stages, which, it 
may be noted, were all built in Newburyport, were events of 
considerable importance, and attended with consequent excite- 
ment. The Eastern Stage Company was the forerunner o. the 
Eastern Railroad Company, which road is now operated by the 
Boston & Maine Railroad Company. 

The brick building on the corner of State and Harris Streets, 
which was the nucleus of the present hotel building, was first 
occupied as a residence by Colonel John Peabody, uncle of 
George Peabody, and then a merchant in this town. 

Two Newburyport men, members of Captain Richard Tit- 
comb's company, were of the number that conveyed Benedict 
Arnold to the British ship Vulture, in September, 1780, and 
scorned his offer of promotion, if they would follow him in his 
then announced desertion from the American to the English 

forces. . 

One of the ancient institutions of Newburyport is the office 
of town-crier. It is now neither appointive nor elective, the 
present incumbent having, years ago, succeeded to it, and con- 












tinued without opposition. In early times he commanded atten- 
tion with a drum, and one of his duties was to escort petty 
culprits through the principal streets, calling attention to their 
offences, which they also were sometimes required to proclaim. 
The business of the present picturesque exemplar is, however, 
mostly confined to announcements of excursions or entertain- 
ments, varied with the promotion of retail trade, and his, ''Hear 
what I have to say!" is preceded by the clang of a large hand- 
bell. It is doubtful if this functionary survives anywhere else in 
the United States. 

The Curfew Bell, which has recently given its name to a 
movement to compel the retiring of young people from the streets 
at nine o'clock in the evening, has, with the exception of a short 
interval in the last decade, been rung here nightly for one 
hundred and ninety-two years, and it is indeed a curfew, or 
signal for retiring, for many people. 

The first vessel to display the American flag on the river 
Thames, was the Count de Grasse, Captain Nicholas Johnson, 
of this port. 

A Newburyport ship, the Indus, was also the first to sail from 
this country to Calcutta, after the war of 1812, and made the 
return trip before news of her arrival had otherwise reached 

here. 

A few months later in the same year, another vessel, the 
Dryad, sailed from here to carry to Calcutta the first five 
missionaries of the American Board of Foreign Missions, an 
organization established here by a Newburyport and a Salem 
clergyman, but which has long since outgrown its early home 
and removed to broader fields. 

The history of ship-building at this port, includes many items 
of general interest. While it is impossible, through imperfect 



lE^^t Colonial ISoott 

registration, to ascertain the exact number of vessels built on 
the Merrimac, it is probable that, from first to last, the number 
would be upwards of two thousand. 

The water-line model which enabled a designer to more 
easily and accurately ascertain the lines and sections of his 
creation, was invented here by a prominent ship-builder, 
Orlando Merrill, in 1794. The original model of this in- 
vention is now preserved in the rooms of the New York His- 
torical Society. 

In 1853 the celebrated chpper ship Dreadnaught was built 
here, a vessel whose remarkable records of crossing the Atlantic 
in a little more than thirteen days, were nearly equal to those of 
the first steamshipso 

Newburyport closed the record of ship-building in Massa- 
chusetts, with the launching, in 1882, of the Mary L. Gushing, 
the last vessel of that class built in this state. 

Although the various societies of Daughters of the Revolution 
are of comparatively recent formation, the spirit which they rep- 
resent was manifest in Newburyport as early as 1796, as shown 
from the following from the Impartial Herald of that year. 

Newburyport, February 26, 1796. Female patriotism. A 
number of ladies belonging to this town met on Monday, in honor 
of the day that gave birth to the man **who unites all hearts," 
and dedicated a few glasses to the following truly sentimental 
and highly republican toasts. 

1 . May our beloved President preside at the helm of government 
longer than we shall have time to tell his years. 

2. Mrs. Washington, respected consort of our illustrious chief. 

3. May the fair patriots of America never fail to assert their 
independence, which nature equally dispenses. 

4. Maria Charlotte Corday. May each Columbian daughter, 
like her, be ready to sacrifice their life to liberty. 

5. The day that saw the wondrous hero rise shall, more than 
all our sacred days, be blessed. 






Em 




"M^i 




WHILE the purpose of this book is to give, in connection 
with Colonial silverware, an outline of the Colonial and 
Revolutionary history of Newburyport, it is also designed 
to note briefly some of the chief points of interest in neighboring 
cities and towns. This reference to its main object is made 
that any seeming lack of proportion between the representation 
of a place and its known importance may be understood, and the 
random character of the selections accounted for. 

Salem is particularly rich in points of interest around which 
history or tradition has left its charm of romance or pall of tragedy. 
It was here that occurred the first armed resistance of the 
Revolution, when, on the 26th of February, 1775, the march 
of three hundred British troops sent by General Gage to seize 
munitions of war was arrested. From here came Colonel Tim- 
othy Pickering, one of Washington's most trusted advisers,, 3nd 
to whom was given successively every office in his cabinet, when 
the latter became president. 

In addition to its wealth of history and the memories of its 
once famous commerce, its heroes of v/ar and statecraft, and its 
merchant princes, Salem is remembered and particularly visited 
as the home of Hawthorne and the scene of several of his romances. 
His birthplace, the home of his youth, the *' House of Seven 
Gables," the <«Grimshaw House," and Custom House, as well 









as the many other houses and haunts immortaHzed in his writings, 
bring to the thoughtful visitor a vivid sense of personal acquaintance, 
not to be gained alone by the reading of his works. Cther cities 
have historic associations and fine old architecture, have had even 
the witches — of painful memory — but only Salem can show 
these originals of storied scenes. 

THOUGH small in point of population, Marblehead has 
strongly marked characteristics, and has played a very 
important part in the history of our country. Like the 
other seaport towns of northern Massachusetts, it furnished many 
men for the navy of the Revolution, and none were braver or 
hardier than the sons of this rocky and picturesque hamlet. 
Chief among these was Captain Mugford, to whose memory 
and that of his crew a memorial has been erected. He captured, 
off Boston harbor, in May, 1776, a British ship, laden with 
military supplies; but, after sending this safely to port, was the 
same day lulled, while defending his ship against an attack of 
the enemy. 

Here lived Agnes Surriage, beloved of Sir Henry Frankland, 
and here also is the scene of Whittier's poem of *< Skipper Ire- 
son's Ride," though the story is doubdess largely imaginary. 

The old town is said to have been a resort of pirates and buc- 
caneers from the Spanish Main, but it is pleasanter to contemplate 
its visitors of to-day, the magnificent yachts 
that rendezvous here from the coast. 





.-,»^*.-»«-v:!^«*- ■^' 



ACROSS the harbor from Marblehead is Beverly, the two 
arranged Hke sentinels, guarding the approach to Salem, 
which is further inland. Marblehead and Beverly divide 
other honors, for the regiment commanded by Colonel Glover 
was rec- Jted from both places, and took an active part in the 
Revolution. It was at one time stationed at Beverly, to cover 
the movements of British men-of-war lying in the outer harbor. 
This regiment was frequently selected by Washington for enter- 
prises requiring great courage and skill, as instanced by its respon- 
sible part in the evacuation of Ne7/ York by the American army 
in 1776. Its most notable achievement, however, was the 
memorable passage of the Delaware, when, on the night of 
Christmas, 1776, Washington's army was enabled, under the 
skillful guidance of these men of Marblehead and Beverly, to 
cross in safety the stormy and ice-filled river, and capture at 
Trenton a large part of the British army. 

Beverly was bombarded by the British ship Nautilus, but 
suffered no great damage. In return, her privateers, which were 
early commissioned, brought in many valuable prizes and materi- 
ally aided the American cause. 

Al' the time of the Revolution and for the first half of this 
centurv, the whole of Cape Ann was known as Glouces- 
ter. Since that time the tovv^ns of Rockport and Annisquam 
have been set off, thus reducing the territory of Gloucester. 

Fishing, in which it is now supreme, has always been its lead- 
ing industry, and the -Captains Courageous" of Kipling were no 
less so when courage meant the braving of hostile guns as well as 
tempest and rocky shores. 



m 




A Newburyport privateer, the Yankee Hero, reinforced by 
Gloucester sailors, was captured, ofF the Cape, by a British man- 
of-war, disguised as a merchantman, after a hard fought battle. 
Among the noted patriots of those days. Captain Harraden of 
Gloucester was a famous and successful fighter who did great 
service for his country. 

On the southerly side of the entrance to Gloucester harbor, 
lies the reef of Norman's Woe — remembered in Longfellow's 
"Wreck of the Hesperus" — the ceaseless peal of the floating 
bell warning the mariner of its menacing presence, as when, on 
that fatal night of old, the skipper's daughter cried: — 

<'0 father! I hear the church-bells ring, 
O say, what may it be?" 

ONE of the most interesting of neighboring cities is Ports- 
mouth. From the earliest time it has been fortified, and 
later its fine deep harbor led to the estabhshment of the 
Navy Yard and attendant government institutions. 

All the prevalent sentiments of liberty and independence noted 
in accounts of other places were characteristic of Portsmouth, 
though the town had probably a greater number of prominent 
loyalists than any other, save Boston. They were roughly handled 
by the patriots, and at the outbreak of open hostilities were obhged 
to seek safety elsewhere. 

One of the first decisive acts of the Revolution, if not the first, 
was successfully consummated here, on the night of December 
14, 1774, four months before the battle of Lexington. 

On that night, a party of men, anticipating the garrisoning of 
Fort William and Mary, at Newcastle, by the forces of the king, 
descended on the fort, surprising and overpowering the sentinel 
and commandant, forced its surrender, and removed to Portsmouth 
upwards of one hundred barrels of gunpowder and fifteen of the 
lightest cannon. The munitions were effectively used in the Rev- 
olution, a large part of the gunpowder being sent to Cambridge. 

Portsmouth was markedly aristocratic 
in early times, and the elegant Colonial 
mansions that still adorn its streets are 
.reminders of the days of affluence, 
when, like Newburyport and Salem, 
it gloried in a large foreign trade or 
hoarded the gains of privateering. 




Z^bt €oloniul Mook 

HAVERHILL, which is to-day a populous and busy city, 
lacked the advantages of the coast towns, and although 
settled in 1640, did not reach its present development 
until the era of manufacturing had superseded that of commerce. 
It was, however, notably active in the events leading up to the 
Revolution, and furnished, both prompdy and wilhngly, its full 
quota of men and funds for that war. 

In earlier times, Haverhill suffered severely from Indian attacks, 
its inland situation rendering it particularly liable to this danger. 
The most famous of these took place on the fifteenth of March, 
1697, when thirty-nine persons were killed or captured, and a 
number of houses burned. Among those taken prisoners were, 
Hannah Duston — whose husband, Thomas Duston, fought his 
way to safety, with seven of their eight children — and Mary 
NeiF, her nurse. After traveling some days and suffering many 
hardships, they were brought to an island in the Merrimac, 
situated a few miles above what is now Concord. Early on the 
morning of April 30, while the savages all slept, Mrs. Duston 
aroused her nurse and an English youth who had been longer a 
prisoner, and, arming themselves with tomahawks, they killed 
their captors, to the number of ten, a squaw and youth escaping. 
After scuttling all the canoes but one, they provisioned that and 
started back to Haverhill, but, before going far, decided to return 
and scalp the Indians, as evidence of their deed; this they did, 
finally reaching home in safety. One of the features of Haverhill 
is the Hannah Duston monument commemorating this event. 

A FEW miles from Newburyport, in the town of Amesbury, 
is the home of Whittier's later years, and from there, in 
1892, he was buried, the simple service attended by a 
gathering of genius such as few occasions could attract. 

An interesting reminder of Whittier, in Amesbury, is the 
"Captain's Well," the subject of his poem of that name. 
It was constructed by Captain Bagley, in or about 1 794. 

'* I will dig a well for the passers-by, 
And none shall suffer from thirst, as I." 

S active revolution had its beginning in the battles of Con- 
cord and Lexington, battles which filled the roads from 
far and near with hurrying minute-men, pressing 



A 






Wfti Colonial Booit 

eagerly to the aid of their heroic compatriots, we have included 
illustrations of a few of the many historic buildings and commem- 
orative monuments identified with this uprising, with which these 
towns abound. 

All the towns here written of, and many others, share in a 
degree, with Concord and Lexington, the glory of these 
monuments; for, while only those favored by proximity arrived 
in time to take part in the fighting, all responded imme- 
diately to the alarm. 





SOME PLACES OF HISTORIC INTEREST IN 
NEWBURYPORT AND VICINITY WHICH 
MAY BE REACHED BY ELECTRIC CARS. 

Newburyport is situated at the mouth of the Mer- 
RiMAC River, which joins the Atlantic on the north 
shore of Massachusetts Bay, thirty-seven miles from 
Boston, and is reached by two divisions of the Boston 
and Maine Railroad, from the Northern Union Station, 
Causeway Street, Boston. 

Parlcer river, named for Rev. Thomas Parker, one of the first 
settlers who landed on its north shore in 1635. About four miles 
from railroad station. 







1S^1)t €oloninl l^ook 

The picturesque Spencer- Pierce house, also called the 
♦'Garrison House," built by Daniel Pierce about 1670, on a 
farm of four hundred acres laid out to John Spencer in 1635. 

"Trayneing Green," laid out in 1642. Scene of the en- 
campment of (Quebec expedition under Benedict Arnold^j, 
September, 1775, and location of a boulder and bronze tablet 
commemorating the event. 

The Noyes house on Parker Street, built about the year 1646 
by Rev. James Noyes associate pastor with Rev. Thomas 
Parker. Near by is the old elm of Newbury, a tree of romantic 
origin, and the subject of a poem by Hannah Flagg Gould. 

The Coffin house. High Street, occupied by Tristram Coffin, 
in 1653, and afterwards the residence of Joshua Coffin, the 
historian of Newbury, also remembered as Whittier's "Village 
Schoolmaster." Still occupied by descendants of the original 
owner. 

The Illsley house. High Street, near head of Marlborough 
Street, built in 1670, and at one time a tavern. Nearby, from 
1653 to 1755, was the Blue Anchor Tavern, the most important 
of early inns. 

House No. 6^ High Street, owned and occupied by Caleb 
Cushing at the time of his death. 

First Presbyterian meeting house. Federal Street, erected in 
1756 and rebuilt in 1856. Here Rev. George Whitefield, the 
great evangeHst, preached and was buried, in a vault under the 
pulpit. 

Nos. 3 and 5 School Street, the house where William Lloyd 
Garrison was born. 

Nos. 9 and 1 1 School Street, the house where Rev. George 
Whitefield died. 

Bomb-shell, on a stone post at the corner of Middle and Inde- 
pendence Streets. Brought from Louisburgby Nathaniel Knapp, 
after the capture of that fortress, in 1758. 

Market Square. On the southeasterly side stood the house 
owned by William Morse, whose wife. Goody Morse, was, m 
1679, convicted of witchcraft and sentenced to death; but, the 
people becoming more enlightened, the sentence was not executed. 










This was probably the first case of trial and conviction for witch- 
craft in Massachusetts. 

Rooms of Newburyport Marine Society, State Street, organ- 
ized in 1772; containing curiosities gathered by members. 
Open to visitors from 10 to i 2 a. m., 2 to 4 p. m. 

No. 21 Charter Street, for many years the residence of Hannah 
Flagg Gould, author of several volumes of prose and poetry. 

Public Library building, erected in 1771 by Patrick Tracy, a 
prominent merchant, as a residence for his son, Nathaniel Tracy, 
also a merchant and ship owner who attained wide prominence 
by reason of the magnitude of his operations and the magnificence 
of his living. Washington occupied apartments in this house 
in 1789, and Lafayette was entertained here in 1824. In 
1865 the building was purchased and adapted for the present use, 
and was added to in 1882, by the generosity of Michael Simpson. 
On the first floor are: a free reading room, maintained for many 
years through the liberality of William C. Todd, Esq., and the 
rooms of the Historical Society of Old Newbury, where visitors 
may inspect objects of historic interest. Some of the rooms on 
this floor retain their original character. 

Dalton house. No 95 State Street, built in 1750, and occu- 
pied by Tristriam Dalton, the first senator to congress from 
Massachusetts. Was later occupied by Moses Brown, a wealthy 
merchant. Now owned and occupied by the Dalton Club. 

Frog Pond and Bartlett Mall, now included in Washington 
Park, were first improved in i 800, through the exertions and 
liberality of Captain Edmund Bartlett. 

The Court House stands on this Mall, and nearly opposite is 
the Putnam Free School building, one of the earliest and most 
liberal institutions of its kind. At the easterly end of the Park 
is a statue of Washington by J. Q. A. Ward, presented to the 
city by Daniel 1. Tenney. 

House No. 34 Green Street, built in 1879 by Hon. Theo- 
philus Parsons, an eminent jurist, with whom John Quincy 
Adams and Robert Treat Paine studied law, and occupied by 
him until 1 800. 



\^Ja/n^'^/^ti4l<iy j 






Brown Square, given to the city by Moses Brown in 1802. 
The statue of William Lloyd Garrison was presented to the 
city by William H. Swasey, Esq., and is by David M. French 
of Newburyport. 

Meeting house of the First Religious Society, Pleasant Street, 
built in 1 800. A fine example of early architecture, with 
characteristic interior. 

High Street, St. Paul's Church. The first building was 
erected herein 1738, and was taken down in the year 1800, to 
make room for the present edifice. Right Rev. Edward Bass, 
D.D., was at that time rector of the church, and was the first 
bishop of the diocese of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. It has 
many interesting architectural features, and also a bell made by 
Paul Revere. 

Dexter house. No. 201 High Street, built by Jonathan Jack- 
son in 1772, and later purchased and occupied by ''Lord" 
Timothy Dexter, a wealthy and eccentric character, by whom 
it was adorned with many wooden statues, since removed. It 
was purchased in 1 874. by Mr. George H. Corhss, the renowned 
engine builder, and occupied by his family until recently. 

Lowell-Johnson house. No. 203 High Street, built about 1774 
by John Lowell, son of Rev. John Lowell, who was afterwards 
judge of the United States Circuit Court. He was the father of 
Francis Cabot Lowell, for whom the city of Lowell was named, 
grandfather of the founder of the Lowell Institute of Boston, and 
also grandfather of James Russell Lowell. The house was later 
occupied by John Tracy, son of Patrick Tracy, and he entertained 
here, in 1782, the Marquis de Castellux, Baron Talleyrand, 
and other officers of the French army. 

House No. 244 High Street, frequently the home of John G. 
Whittier during the last years of his life. 













The Toppan house. No. lo Toppan Street, built by Jacob 
Toppanin 1670, and still in possession of his hneal descendants. 

House northeasterly corner of Oakland and High Streets, was 
owned and occupied by James Parton. 

Pillsbury place. No. 265 High Street. This was first the 
farm of Edward Rawson, clerk of the town and member of the 
House of Deputies. Later, he was for thirty-five years secretary of 
the Colony of Massachusetts Bay. In 1651 it was by him sold 
to Job C. Pillsbury, who in 1700 erected a dwelling house, 
which was destroyed by fire in 1889, and of which the present 
structure, owned and occupied by his descendants, is a copy. 

Essex, Merrimac, or "Chain'' Bridge. Here in 1792 was 
erected the first bridge across the Merrimac river. It was, in 
1 810, superseded by the present suspension bridge, which was 
the second of its kind in the country. 

Deer Island, home of Harriet Prescott SpofFord. The house 
here was, in the early part of the century, a noted tavern and 
toll-house for the bridges on either side. 




Among the most interesting spots to be found are the old 
burial grounds with their curious and quaintly inscribed head- 
stones, memorials in many cases of famous characters, and in 
themselves a written history of many early events. Those 
most easily reached are: — 

The Burying Ground of the First Parish, High Street, near 
"Trayneing Green." Many of the first settlers are buried here. 

The Old Hill Burying Ground and the New Hill Burying 
Ground, both on Pond Street, near Washington Park. Here 
are buried many once prominent in local and national affairs. 

St. Paul's Church-yard, High Street. 

Burying Ground of the Second Parish, Sawyer's Hill. 

Belleville Cemetery, formerly churchyard of Queen Anne's 
Chapel, the first building of the Episcopal Church. 

Oak Hill Cemetery, State Street, consecrated in 1 842, is the 
most unportant modern burying ground, and is noteworthy for 
the beauty of its situation and arrangement, as well as for its 
entrance gates and many fine monuments. 

For much of the information contained in the above 
list the compiler is indebted to a volume entitled, 
'*OULD NEWBURTy'' by John J. Currier. 
Published hy Damrell and Vpham, Boston, Mass, 






This little book ivas arranged and printed for thi 

T o w L E M FG. Company, Silversmiths 

4y W I L L B R A D L E Y, ^/ Me University Press 
Cambridge^ U. S. A. 



One Hundred and Sixtitth Thousand 



THE COLONIAL PATTERN 

IS MADE IN STERLING SILVER (925-1000 
FINE), AND SOLD ONLY BY LEADING 
JEWELERS IN THE UNITED STATES 
AND PROVINCES, FROM WHOM MAY 
BE OBTAINED A CATALOGUE ILLUS- 
TRATING UPWARDS OF ONE HUNDRED 
ARTICLES OF TABLE FLAT- WARE. THE 
CATALOGUE WILL BE MAILED TO ANY 
ADDRESS UPON REQUEST. ^ ^ BUYERS 
OF SILVERWARE SHOULD CAREFULLY 
EXAMINE THE TRADE MARK WHICH 
IS A GUARANTEE OF QUALITY. 




TOWLE MFG. COMPANY 
NEWBURYPORT & CHICAGO 




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